Epic
Cotthoff
construction
of this before the DS9 5th season finale.
feel free to link to this story anywhere. Please leave this tag
included
if you do so.
Prologue
As the wormhole opened, the Alpha
Quadrant powers held their breaths. A fleet of Dominion ships flew
through,
and weapons ready. In Ops of the space station Deep Space Nine,
activity buzzed everywhere. Captain Benjamin Sisko was worried. Although
the Dominion had sent ships through the wormhole before, they were usually
headed toward Cardassian space, which was now under Dominion control. “Red
Alert. All hands to battle stations,” was Sisko’s first order. “Major
Kira,
deploy the Defiant.”
“Aye sir,” Kira chimed. The USS
Defiant was one of the smaller ships in the fleet. But, it was
undoubtedly
the most powerful and most maneuverable. Major Kira was glad to have the
chance to command such a ship.
“Report, Commander Dax,” Sisko asked
his close friend Jadzia Dax.
“I am counting 75 Jem ‘Hadar
fighters
along with several Cardassian Galor-class warships. The Cardassian
warships
however do not appear armed with weapons. Intelligence indicates that
these
Cardassian ships have been on reconnaissance missions in the Gamma
quadrant.”
Lt. Cmdr. Worf sat at his station
and awaited the battle that could happen in moments. “Sir, I recommend
we have General Martok deploy his warships immediately instead of having
them hiding in cloak. The Dominion is bound to know they are cloaked
somewhere.
I believe that the Dominion will respect our show of strength.”
“Good idea. Get me Martok on
screen.”
Sisko was uneasy about the whole situation. His son Jake and other
civilians
were on their way via shuttle to Bajor at the moment. He never knew if
he would get the chance to see him again.
Martok appeared on the viewing
screen.
Sisko felt sorry for the former Dominion prisoner, who had lost his eye
in the process. “Captain,” Martok yelled, “I recommend that I deploy three
birds of prey behind the aft Dominion ships. I’ll have them uncloak and
catch the Dominion off guard. Then, we will see what they do. It may sound
risky but we all knew this day would come sooner or later.”
“Roger that. Sisko out. Dax, open
a channel to the Dominion.”
“Channel open.”
“This is Captain Benjamin Sisko of
the Bajoran space station Deep Space Nine. You are ordered to leave
Bajoran space immediately.” No reply came to Ops. But, aboard the Bird
of Prey IKC Boreth, the crew awaited battle. Upon their receival
of Gen. Martok’s orders to fall in behind the Dominion fleet, the crew
complied quickly. They quickly maneuvered behind the aft Dominion ships.
When they were in position, the captain gave the order to decloak and
raise
shields. By the time the bird of prey was halfway uncloaked, a Jem ‘Hadar
fighter fired its aft torpedoes at the ship and destroyed her. The crew
in Ops saw it all happen on the view screen. Oh God, though
Sisko.
It had begun.
Chapter 1
“Order the fleet to decloak! Prepare
to engage the Dominion fleet!” Martok relished the chance to wreak revenge
on his former interrogators. “Bring us about to 323 Mark 1. Attack pattern
Kahless 7.” All Klingon ships, 39 in all, prepared to fight the
first battle in what would be perceived as a World War back in Earth’s
20th Century.
In Ops, hand-held phasers were being
distributed to all personnel. Everyone remembered the Klingon battle over
2 years ago when Klingon boarding parties raided the station. Perhaps the
outcome would go differently, but Jem ”Hadar soldiers were much more
powerful
than the average Klingon. “Mr. Worf, is there any indication that the
Dominion
fleet is preparing to get out of here?”
“No sir. The fleet appears to be
on an intercept course for the Klingon fleet, and they are staying well
out of range of our phasers, but barely in range of our quantum torpedoes.
But, I believe even our torpedoes won’t do much damage at this range. I
however have a plan.”
“Let’s here it,” Sisko said, “Just
about anything will work for us right now.”
“I recommend we have the Klingon
fleet move to protect the civilian shuttles now leaving. This could draw
the Dominion into optimal firing range, but the civilians could be caught
in the crossfire.”
That’s a risk we’ll have to take,
thought Sisko. “Make it so.”
As the Klingon ships veered towards
the 15 civilian transport ships, the Dominion fighters followed. The first
shots were fired by 3 lead Dominion fighters. Several Klingon attack
cruisers
were damaged, but torpedo fire from the station quickly knocked the 3 lead
Dominion ships out of the sky, and also alerting the Dominion ships of
the station’s presence. One civilian ship was damaged, but the damage was
light. All civilian ships managed to make it to Bajor safely.
As half the Dominion ships turned
to engage the station, the USS Defiant came out of nowhere blasting
the lead ships with her phasers. “Direct hit,” called an Ensign at the
helm of the Defiant.
“Bring us about to 126 Mark
65. Attack pattern Omega. Lock on to the lead enemy fighters. Fire on my
mark.” Major Kira loved being in command of such power. As the
Defiant
nearly turned completely, firing off 3 torpedoes at pursuing Dominion
ships,
and finally coming about to its desired course, 6 Dominion fighters let
loose with a volley of torpedoes and phaser-like projections. The
Defiant
wove through most of the weapons, taking only minor damage. “Fire.”
As the mighty ship’s phaser banks
erupted, 4 of the Dominion fighters went down in a ball of fire. The next
2 were destroyed by the mere shock wave of being so close to the erupting
fighters. Kira was quite satisfied. The pattern continued, with the
Defiant
destroying 13 more fighters before she began to take on more damage.<
FONT FACE="Times New Roman,Times">
In Ops, Sisko gave the order to
fire.
Quantum torpedoes volleyed from their stations on the hull of the station.
Phaser fire blazed out and struck nearby ships. But, the Dominion were
overwhelming the station’s defenses. The Klingon fleet was hardly doing
any damage. Martok was dissatisfied with his fleet’s performance. They
had already suffered 50 % losses while barely destroying any Dominion
ships.
“Shields down to 34% sir. We won’t
be able to take much more of this.” O’ Brian was always the one who had
to give that report. “We’re receiving a transmission from the
Enterprise-E.
Captain Picard says he’ll be here in 20 minutes. He is being accompanied
by 6 other Federation starships.”
“Good,” Sisko yelled, “maybe we can
get these Dominion bastards to go back where they came from. Fire at
will!”
The rage continued.
Chapter 2
Aboard the Federation starship
USS
Enterprise NCC-1701E, the bridge crew watched in horror at the view
screen as another Klingon ship was destroyed. The crew was able to watch
the battle using their long range sensors and the view screen. Picard
grimaced
at the sight. “Red Alert. All hands to battle stations. Load all torpedo
tubes and ready all phasers.” He wanted his fleet to come in firing as
soon as they dropped out of warp.
“Aye sir.”
As the crew watched on, Commander
William Riker was actually scared. This was his first encounter with the
Dominion, and from what he had heard they were worse than the Borg. He
continued to study the way the Dominion ships traveled in wolfpacks and
ravaged a ship using superior firepower. They were not in any way like
the Borg.
An explosion was seen on the view
screen. “Sir, DS9 has just suffered a direct hit. Her shields are down,”
came Lt. Cmdr. Data’s voice.
“Ready a boarding party immediately.
We’ll see if we can assist them in any way once we arrive,” Picard
ordered.
“Yes sir,” replied Lt. Commander
Data. Data was fascinated by these Dominion ships. Only 2 months before
when he was under the influence of the Borg queen, he was exposed to
intelligence
regarding the Dominion. Apparently the Borg had attempted to assimilate
the Dominion into their culture. The first cube was destroyed in a matter
of minutes by hundreds of Dominion fighters. Data actually became scared
of the thought of that.
The relief force was 7 minutes
away.
Aboard DS9, Jem ‘Hadar troops began
to beam aboard. Immediately all personnel reached for their sidearms.
Phaser
fire erupted in Ops. Worf used one of his Klingon weapons, and
successfully
killed 6 Jem ‘Hadar soldiers. Two Bajoran officers were vaporized
immediately
by Jem ‘Hadar disruptor fire. Even though the Jem ‘Hadar soldiers were
outnumbered, they were killing more Federation and Bajoran personnel than
the losses that were being inflicted on them. Sisko grunted hard as he
went hand-to-hand with a Jem ‘Hadar soldier. He quickly hit the solider
in the jaw (if the Jem ‘Hadar had one) and kneed him in the stomach. The
solider grunted at the loss of breath. Sisko reached for the small tube
that provided the soldier with his much-needed “white”, the drug the
Dominion
uses to control the Jem ‘Hadar, and ripped it from his uniform. The
soldier
quickly went hysterical. At the sight of their friend being struck down
in such a way, the Jem ‘Hadar fled. They quickly beamed back aboard their
ships. There’s one huge weakness those genetically-engineered bastards
have, thought Sisko. Just then, Sisko heard transporter beams in Ops.
He assumed it was another wave of Jem ‘Hadar soldiers. But it
wasn’t.
It was a force of Starfleet
soldiers.
The relief force had arrived.
Chapter 3
The Enterprise let loose with
a volley of quantum torpedoes at the Dominion fighters. The Klingons
attempted
to regroup, as they had suffered severe losses. Several attack cruisers
and birds of prey were grouped around the Enterprise, using her
as protection. “Bring us about to 156 mark 86. Prepare to fire phasers
at the lead Dominion ships. Prepare to fire torpedoes 3 seconds after
phaser
fire has ceased.” Picard was a practiced strategist. He planned to scatter
the fighters with phaser fire and then blast them to bits with quantum
torpedoes, catching them off guard. “Fire.” Picard’s plan worked. The
Enterprise
successfully destroyed 4 fighters, and damaging a good number of others.
The Dominion fighters began to fall back. A Galaxy-class starship erupted
in a ball of flames as its warp core breached.
“Sir, the Missouri has been
destroyed,” reported Lt. Cmdr. Data. “But, the Dominion fighters are
falling
back. I believe they are retreating.”
Picard was relieved at the thought
of the battle ending. Only God knew how wrong he was.
The wormhole then opened, and at
least 200 more Dominion fighters emerged.
Aboard DS9, Sisko’s heart was
broken.
“Damn! How close were we to driving the Dominion off?” Sisko knew the
answer.
“Sir,” Miles said, “Captain Picard
aboard the Enterprise is hailing us.”
“On screen.”
The image of Captain Picard on a
view screen made Sisko shudder. He had once seen this face before, at Wolf
359 when Picard was Locutus of Borg. “Captain Sisko, I recommend we fall
back. There is no way in hell 15 Klingon ships and 6 Federation starships
can repel this attack. DS9 is hardly in a situation to where it can defend
itself.”
“You make a very good point Captain.
But what about Bajor? It is my duty to protect the planet at all costs.
I cannot surrender this system to the Dominion.”
“I understand your concern. I know
your son is down there. But, as a friend once told me, ‘The needs of the
many outweigh the needs of the few,'” Picard quoted his late friend
Sarek.
“Yes, but 7 billion Bajoran lives
compared to 25,000 Klingon and Federation lives seems hardly comparable.
Even if we stay here and fight the fleet will most certainly be destroyed.
It’s better to go out standing than to go out on your knees.”
Picard understood Sisko very well.
But Picard was not going to allow Federation lives to be lost protecting
a non-Federation member. “Captain Sisko, do I need to remind you that
Bajor
is not under Federation protection? Your task here was to merely assist
in economic regrowth and give limited protection. I would say that
limit is..wait, Mr. Data says he is picking something up on sensors.”
O’Brien checked his sensors. “Sir,
a fleet of Romulan warbirds has just decloaked. I am picking up 43
warbirds.
They are asking to assist.”
“Let them join up with the
Enterprise.
Advise them to wait for the order to attack. The Dominion are sitting
still
while they can. Any moment now they’ll break formation and head for us.
Captain Picard, we now have 43 Romulan Warbirds willing to assist us. Is
this enough reason to convince you to not retreat?”
Picard thought heavily on this. “I
suppose so.”
Data turned to Picard and said,
“Captain,
the Dominion ships are beginning to break formation. Their entire fleet
is heading towards us.”
The warbirds were the first to open
fire. But, hardly any damage was done due to the fact that the Dominion
have had extensive study on the Romulans’ warships ever since the failed
invasion over 2 years ago. The Dominion had adapted their shields to
Romulan
weapons. Although this had little effect on the warbirds’s fire, it was
enough to discourage several Romulan commanders.
The remaining Federation ships went
into an odd attack pattern. The Defiant led the attack blazing
phaser
fire at the lead ships, then breaking off while firing its aft torpedoes.
This maneuver was very effective. The slow Romulan ships were able to
provide
lots of firepower while slowly falling in behind the more maneuverable
Federation ships. But still the Dominion fighters broke through and scored
heavy hits on the Enterprise and other Romulan ships.
“Shields down to 64%,” the
Lieutenant
at Tactical said.
“Fire phasers. Attack pattern Picard
91. Two-thirds impulse. Engage.” The Enterprise barrel-rolled and
flew downwards and finally into a solid loop. The maneuver was similar
to what 20th century jet-fighters performed. Picard took a huge
risk performing them with a starship. It was clear that this ship was very
agile despite its size. A volley of torpedoes followed aft. A bird of prey
swooped down under the Enterprise, nearly colliding with her. The
bird of prey quickly fired off several blasts of disruptors then began
its pattern again.
Aboard the Klingon flagship IKC
Neghvar, Gen. Martok began to see the inevitable. He knew the Dominion
had their forces outnumbered almost 3 to 1. Although he did not plan to
retreat, he thought it to be logical to do so. I am not turning into
one of those bloodless Vulcans!, he thought to himself. “Fire
torpedoes.
Order the Quebla to watch our rear.” The crew followed his orders
without question.
The torpedoes leapt from the
Neghvar
with astounding speed. Three torpedoes struck a Dominion fighter. The
fighter
exploded, but not before finally colliding with the Federation starship
Bozeman, Nebula-class. The Bozeman‘s shields collapsed, and
the starship exploded.
“Sir, we just lost the
Bozeman,”
Data chimed. The Enterprise shook as 3 Dominion ships fired on them
at the same time. A quantum torpedo took care of one of the ships, but
the Defiant took care of the other two fighters, virtually
springing
out of nowhere on a 90-degree attack angle.
Aboard the Defiant, Kira felt
sick to her stomach. The inertial dampers were down, and that last
maneuver
made her feel like vomiting. “Report!” she yelled.
“Shields down to 38%. We only have
15 torpedoes left. One more hit could finish us.”
Aboard the Enterprise, the
situation was hardly different. The mighty starship had suffered heavy
damage. “La Forge to bridge. I don’t think we can keep this up much
longer.
We are going to have to stay out of the way for at least 10 minutes so
I can get our shields back up.”
It was too late. With the
Enterprise‘s
shields down, a Dominion fighter fired off a torpedo. The torpedo struck
her in her starboard warp nacelle, causing catastrophic effects on board.
“Direct hit to our starboard nacelle! Warp core breach imminent in 13
minutes!”
someone yelled. Picard could not tell who through all the smoke. Data was
still at his station. He was manually controlling Tactical from his
station.
After a minute or so of Data
fighting
off Dominion ships, he seemed satisfied. “Sir, I have manually maneuvered
the Enterprise away from the battle. I have contained the warp
core.”
“Very well,” Picard said.
“Report.”
Data looked at his sensors. “Sir,
the starships Odysseus and Rapier have been destroyed.
Exactly
15 Romulan warbirds have been destroyed. All but 3 Klingon warships have
been knocked out of the battle. The Defiant has suffered heavy
damage.
DS9’s shields are holding at 50%. There are approximately 102 Dominion
fighters left. They are falling back, possibly to regroup.”
“Good. Order all remaining ships
to draw back to our position. Get me Captain Sisko.”
“Aye sir.”
Sisko appeared on the view screen
seconds later. Blood was trickling from his forehead. “Captain Picard,
I’d say it would be a good idea to retreat now. DS9 has suffered heavy
casualties. Evacuations are underway as we speak. I recommend we fall back
to the Galapagos system. There we will be able to regroup and inform
Starfleet
command of what has happened.”
“Ok. Once you have successfully
evacuated
the station, set course for the Galapagos system. The remaining ships will
follow and escort you.”
“Roger that. Sisko out.”
As the Defiant flew back
towards
the station to beam aboard survivors, the Dominion fleet turned tail and
ran. O’Brien reported, “Sir, the Dominion fleet has just gone to
warp.”
Sisko was puzzled. He figured they
would want to finish off the station. “Destination?”
“They are on a course 115 Mark 52.
That course will lead them directly to..sir..Sector 001. The Sol System.
Earth.”
Sisko shuddered. “Get me a
transmission
to Starfleet command.” Earth was in jeopardy of being captured, and Sisko
was not about to let that happen.
Chapter 4
Admiral Smith looked at the woman.
It’s great to be in a position of such power he though to himself.
He had met the woman the night before at a ceremony to honor Spock, former
captain of Starfleet. “You know how I like it,” he said. “Yes….”
Admiral Smith didn’t even have time
to think, as the woman changed form into an unknown beast and struck the
Admiral down with one blow. Admiral Smith died instantly. The Founders
had infiltrated Earth, and were now using it to their advantage. The
Changeling
quickly assumed the shape of Admiral Smith.
Aboard the Enterprise, Picard
awaited Admiral Smith’s response in a few moments. The Defiant
successfully
evacuated all surviving personnel, and was en route to the Galapagos
system.
Data looked up from his console.
“Sir, incoming transmission from Admiral Smith on Earth.”
“On screen.” Smith appeared looking
very refreshed. Very unusual, though Picard, Smith is usually
very nervous at all times, and during a war he should seem even more
so.
“Admiral Smith, a Dominion fleet is en route to Earth. They should arrive
in 13 hours. I recommend we organize a fleet of starships and meet them
there. We have the support of the Romulan Star Empire as well as the
Klingon
Empire. We could end this with one battle, if we all choose to unite
against
a common enemy.”
Smith smiled. “Very impressive
speech
Jean-Luc. But, the President of the Federation has decided to surrender
to the Dominion. As of now, the United Federation of Planets is a new
member
of the Dominion.”
“Sir…what proof do you have of
this? The President would have had some kind of warning before…”
“Do as you are told Jean-Luc. I want
the surrender ceremony to be held on the Enterprise.“
Picard realized what had happened.
He decided to play along. “Very well sir.” Smith’s face quickly went off
screen, followed by the insignia of the Dominion. “I have reason to
believe
that Admiral Smith is a Changeling. We cannot allow him to dictate the
Federation’s actions.”
Riker was puzzled. “Sir, what do
you expect us to do? We have no solid proof of this. What you are
suggesting
is a mutiny towards one of Starfleet’s most respected Admirals.”
“The real Admiral Smith is dead.
We must plan a counterstrike against the Dominion before it is too late.
Data, any ideas?”
“Yes sir. We could take our
remaining
fleet and attempt to stop the Dominion fleet before it reaches Earth, or
we could gather up any loyal starships and rebel against the new
Federation.”
“That’s absurd.”
“We have no other choice sir. I
estimate
from evaluating all Starship commanders’ psychological profiles that
exactly
125 starships will join the rebellion. It seems that all of our major
starbases
have been replaced by new commanders within the last 3 months. This
indicates
a possible Dominion plot. But, with the aid of the Romulans and Klingons
we could make a good enough fight to drive back the Dominion.”
“Very well. Send out a coded
transmission
to all the Captains you suspect will remain on our side. Instruct them
to meet up near the Badlands.”
Data complied quickly. “Yes
sir.”
Chapter 5
Once the Enterprise arrived
at the Badlands, 3 other starships were waiting. Picard did not know if
these ships were friendly or hostile. He got his answer when one of the
ships hailed the Enterprise. The Starship James T. Kirk,
Galaxy-class, commanded by Captain Mary Freeman, hailed the Enterprise,
stating that they were non-hostile. “On screen,” Picard ordered.
Freeman’s face appeared on the
viewer.
“Captain Picard, I received your transmission. How bad do you suspect it
is on Earth?”
Picard though the question over.
“It is probably very bad. I am sure Jem ‘Hadar soldiers are patrolling
the streets of every nation on the planet. The Federation has been taken
over, and I am not so sure we can win her back. It would take a
miracle.”
Freeman became saddened of the
thought
of Jem ‘Hadar patrolling the streets of her native land, Kentucky. “We
must strike back as soon as possible. I believe it would be possible to
launch a counter-offensive against Earth.”
“That would be a suicide mission.
Earth is surrounded by over 300 Jem ‘Hadar fighters along with Cardassian
warships. It would take a huge fleet to penetrate that kind of
defense.”
“From your transmission we can count
on at least 100 starships along with numerous Klingon and Romulan
vessels…”
Picard stopped Freeman. “Captain
Freeman you must realize that the Romulan and Klingon will probably not
assist in the retaking of Earth. The cause benefits them in no
way.”
“Very well Captain Picard. I will
instruct the rest of my fleet to stay here and wait. I hope the rest of
our fleet will arrive later today. Kirk out.”
The viewer was replaced by the image
of the James T. Kirk, which reminded the entire crew of their old
ship, the Enterprise-D.
Chapter 6
During the next 2 days, 112
starships
arrived in the Badlands. Picard was given command of the new fleet. The
fleet was deemed “Earth’s Salvation” by its members. Everyday each ship
watched a Dominion broadcast. Dominion ships were looking for the rebel
fleet, but they hardly expected to look near the Badlands. It seems that
the President of the former Federation was replaced by a Dominion
delegate.
The new Dominion controlled Starfleet planned to upgrade all existing
ships
to Dominion technology standards. Picard’s intelligence sources indicated
that around 200 ships were being used by the Dominion, and that was added
to the Cardassian and existing Dominion warships.
Times for the Alpha Quadrant were
bad.
The Romulan Empire was invaded 2
days later. Cloaked Romulan warbirds repelled the first attack, which
consisted
of a small number of Cardassian and Dominion ships. The second attack was
on a much larger scale. Over 300 Dominion fighters with 25 Galor-class
Cardassian warships invaded Romulan space. Several Klingon ships assisted
and were destroyed. The remaining Romulan forces retreated towards the
Badlands to join up with Picard’s forces.
On board the Enterprise, Lt.
Cmdr. Data looked up from his console. “Captain, we are picking up tachyon
emissions all around us. It appears to be a cloaked vessel, but the
tachyon
emissions are coming from all around us.”
“Go to red alert.”
“Sir, a number of Romulan warbirds
are decloaking…many of them are heavily damaged…the lead ship is
hailing
us.”
“On screen.”
A Romulan admiral appeared on the
viewer. In the background Picard saw fires being put out. Gas was in the
background along with several dead Romulan soldiers. “Captain Picard, I
am Admiral Sovalok. I am the Commander-In-Chief of the Romulan fleet. As
if you did not already know, our fleet was badly damaged in an attempt
to protect our borders against the Dominion. Our attempt was unsuccessful.
As you can see my fleet is badly damaged. We could use some assistance.”
Picard was not much of a diplomat,
but he seized the opportunity to strengthen his fleet. “Sovalok, we offer
our repairs in exchange for your loyalty to this fleet. When the time
comes
for us to retake our home world I trust you will assist in anyway
possible.”
Sovalok replied, “Yes of course.
Then we have a deal?”
“We have a deal. Direct your forces
to these coordinates and repairs and weapon replenishments will be
offered.
We have an abundant supply of quantum torpedoes which you may use, but
I am sure your engineers will have to make some adjustments to your weapon
systems.”
“Yes of course. Thank you for your
hospitality. I would like to talk with you over dinner sometime, maybe
to discuss the hell that surrounds us.”
Sovalok is actually being nice,
unlike any Romulan I’ve encountered before. “Certainly. I’ll have the
arrangements made immediately. Picard out.”
The image of Sovalok was replaced
with the heavily damaged Romulan fleet. “Data, exactly how many warbirds
does Sovalok have with him?”
“Approximately 82. Sixteen of them
are heavily damaged and all other are either damaged or out of
weapons.”
Picard was pleased at the number
of warbirds Sovalok had offered to the fleet. They would be of great use
to their cause. Picard remembered the repair station that was just
constructed
on an asteroid not 3 light years away. The crews there were constructing
Defiant-class warships. They had already constructed 1 of them,
but finding crew to operate them was a problem. Major Kira suggested that
they use Klingon or Bajoran soldiers to operate the mighty vessels. But
either way the construction would have to be halted to repair the damaged
Romulan vessels. Picard looked at Riker. Riker had not said much during
the war. “Number One is something bothering you?”
“Yes sir actually there is. I am
afraid that my father may have had something to do with the Dominion’s
invasion. He was never really loyal to the Federation in the first place.
I am worried he may have gotten himself into something he can’t
handle.”
“Will, I am sure your father had
nothing to do with this. I know him, he’s a good man. I am sure he was
loyal to the Federation.”
“Thank you sir. But, I have my
doubts
about him. You can’t exactly trust anyone these days, now can
you?”
Picard saw the truth in that. “Good
point. But we do have some protection against Changelings, now don’t we?”
Picard said while looking at the exhausted Betazoid Deanna Troi. She
smiled
for the first time in days.
“I will try to do my duties as well
as I can sir.” She looked at Riker and telepathically whispered to him
I hope we get out of this alive, Imzadi. Riker and Troi shared a
telepathic bond from the romance they shared over 15 years ago. Riker
simply
nodded his head and smiled. Picard didn’t have to think to realize that
both of them still loved each other.
Chapter 7
Aboard the USS Defiant, Sisko
was worried. He had no clue if the Dominion had conquered Bajor or not.
His son Jake was still down on that planet, and he so badly wanted to
cloak
and warp away to rescue him. He knew he couldn’t.
The Defiant was assigned to
remain cloaked and patrol the borders of the Badlands for any signs of
Dominion activity. Earlier that week he had encountered 3 Dominion
fighters.
The Defiant was not detected. The Dominion ships’ sensors were
unable
to penetrate the heavy plasma storms the Badlands contained, so the fleet
was okay and hidden. Lt. Cmdr. Jadzia Dax was at the helm of the
Defiant.
Dax had not said much since the war had begun. Sisko felt he needed to
talk to her as a friend instead of a comrade at arms. “Old man, how is
everything?”
“Sir, sensors are not picking
up…”
“Not out there, in here,” Sisko said
while pointing to her head.
“Not good Benjamin. Not good.” The
ship then rocked violently as Dax finished up her sentence. A Cardassian
warship had just detected the Defiant while she was cloaked. “We’ve
been hit,!” Dax called, “we need to decloak!”
“Decloak!” Sisko ordered. As the
Defiant uncloaked the Cardassian ship prepared to fire her phasers
again. A near miss from the Cardassian vessel allowed the Defiant
to survive. As the Defiant‘s shields were raised, phaser fire
erupted
from her forward section. The Cardassian ship attempted to maneuver away
from the fire, but it was too late. A quantum torpedo finished the job
as the Cardassian vessel lay dying in space. Sisko had to make sure the
Cardassian ship didn’t get off a distress signal. It didn’t.
Worf was proud of the accomplishment.
“Sir, the Cardassian ship has been destroyed. It did not have enough time
to send out a distress call.”
“Very well,” Sisko said. “Sisko to
O’Brien. Chief give me a damage report.”
The Chief’s voice came over the
Comm,
“Sir we took some hits but nothing serious. We were lucky that the
Cardassian
barely missed us on that first shot. A direct hit would have finished
us.”
“How long to repair the damage
Chief?”
“Not long, maybe an hour. The
cloaking
device is still operational, so I suggest we cloak before we run into any
other Dominion vessels.”
“Roger that.” Sisko turned to Mr.
Worf. “Good shooting Mr. Worf.” Worf took the compliment and sat there
quietly, as he had grown accustomed to.
Chapter 8
As the Defiant was returning
from its patrol, Picard noticed the charred hull. “Picard to Sisko,
I
have noticed the new paint job the
Defiant has received. Did you run into some trouble?”
“Yes sir. We ran into a single
Galor-class
warship. We destroyed it before it could send out a distress call. We took
some minor damage to the hull. It’s nothing we won’t be able to prepare
in a day’s work.”
Picard was glad to hear that the
Cardassian ship didn’t call for help. “Very good. Picard out.”
Picard walked into his ready room.
In the room were several captains who commanded various starships in the
fleet. Sovalok was there also representing the Romulan Empire. “Thank you
all for coming. I know these last few weeks have been very hard on all
of us. We’ve all lost good friends in battle. What upsets me the most is
that most of our so called ‘allies’ have been replaced by Dominion
operatives.
About 53% of the former Starfleet is being controlled by the Dominion.
The other 47% presides here at this secret outpost. Captain Freeman from
the USS James T. Kirk, our intelligence officer, has some rather
exciting news to tell. Captain, you have the floor.”
Freeman got up from her seat and
Picard took it immediately. Freeman began her report by turning on the
console to her left. A video scene was shown. “This video was obtained
from a smuggler who will remain anonymous for the moment. Please watch.”
She pushed a button on the console, and the video began to play.
It showed empty space. A few seconds
later Dominion fighters flew by and Starbase 1 was shown. Starbase 1
orbits
Earth. The Starbase opened its out doors, and several Dominion fighters
flew out. As the fighters were coming about, apparently to go to warp,
several Klingon attack cruisers decloaked and fired torpedoes and
disruptors.
Immediately 50 or so fighters fell on the cruisers like a dog on a bone,
but the cruisers had already destroyed the fighters that had just left
the Starbase. Several Dominion fighters fired but were too late. The
Klingon
ships were able to sneak in past the Dominion’s defenses and plan a hit
and run attack. The Vor ‘Cha attack cruiser’s planned job was the hit and
run tactic, and it was brought out well in the scene.
Freeman continued after the video
ceased. “It seems our old friends the Klingons aren’t totally out of the
fight. Despite losing 36 of 39 warships to the Dominion in the initial
invasion, the Klingon fleet seems to fight relentlessly. A message was
relayed to Captain Picard by other means from Chancellor Gowron, leader
of the Klingon Empire. Gowron wishes to assist this Federation/Romulan
fleet in anyway possible. Captain Picard, you may resume.”
Picard got up from his seat, and
Freeman quickly sat down in it. “Thank you Captain Freeman. Gowron
apparently
wants to join up with us. He realizes that the Klingon Empire is next on
the Dominion’s agenda, and he wants to be prepared. However, this could
mean having to give some of the ships here to the Klingons. This might
weaken the fleet in an event of an attack. I have decided we shall have
to take that risk. If the Klingon Empire falls this fleet will be the
last,
best hope for reclaiming what is rightfully ours. The Alpha Quadrant as
we know it will cease to exist, and the Dominion will have established
their own empire here. I cannot, and will not let that happen!” Picard
showed emotion as he said that last sentence. All the people in attendance
clapped and agreed. It was evident that the battle for the Klingon Empire
would have dire effects on the future of the Alpha Quadrant.
Chapter 9
Thirty of the starships and 40 of
the Romulan warbirds were sent to assist the Klingons. The starships were
equipped with Romulan cloaking devices, so Dominion detection was a long
shot. The fleet was commanded by Captain Benjamin Sisko, commanding the
USS Defiant. Along with these ships, the 3 new Defiant-class
vessels
were being used. The ships all had skeleton crews of Romulan and
Federation
crews.
The fleet set out for Klingon space
the next morning, accompanied by several Klingon birds of prey.
Aboard the USS Defiant, Sisko
felt that he was in command of a naval fleet back in the 1940’s during
World War II. He imagined himself as Adm. Bull Halsey, giving the order
to launch torpedo bombers at Japanese warships. Interesting..he
though to himself..maybe Jake & I can explore that era through a
holosuite program..
Sisko’s image of his son was quickly
replaced. As he came back to reality, he realized there was a war on. His
son was safe on Bajor–at least he hoped–and there was nothing he could
do about that.
Dax looked at her console and said,
“Captain, we are receiving a transmission from one of the Klingon birds
of prey. They are directing us to divert course to 009 mark 34. They say
a Dominion patrol is on our present course.”
“Make it so. Go to yellow alert.”
As the ship’s crew readied for a possible battle, Sisko was uneasy. “Mr.
Worf, in your opinion do you think we can stop the Dominion’s invasion
of Klingon space?”
Worf was puzzled. This was not an
ordinary question you would normally receive your commanding officer.
“Sir,
it is not my place to decide..”
“Just tell me what you think,” Sisko
said lightheartedly.
Worf sat us straighter. “Sir, I
believe
that the Klingon fleet will be able to slow down a Dominion invasion. With
our help we can even possibly defeat it. The outcome of the battle will
depend on whether or not Gowron has constructed enough Neghvar-class
warships. The Vor’cha cruiser is aging and the Empire cannot use it
forever.
If the Klingons have enough Neghvar-class warships the invasion
would become rather slowed. These ships are of great magnitude, capable
of defeating several Romulan warbirds or Galaxy-class starships.”
Sisko was impressed by Worf’s
knowledge.
“Mr. Worf that makes a lot of sense. I seriously hope the Klingons are
prepared for an invasion.”
Dax looked up from her station.
“Benjamin,
we have cleared the Dominion patrol. We are coming up on our destination.
The birds of prey are slowing to impulse.”
“Drop out of warp,” Sisko ordered.
What Sisko saw was breathtaking. Over 250 Klingon warships stood ready
to repel a Dominion invasion. “You would figure they would have patrols
out instead of massing one huge fleet. They aren’t even cloaked.”
Worf realized at once what his race
was doing. “Sir, perhaps the Klingons are inviting the Dominion to invade.
Then, this fleet could spring a trap and close off the Dominion fleet.
This strategy is consistent with former Klingon tactics.”
“The lead Klingon vessel is hailing
us. It’s Gowron,” Dax reported.
“On screen.”
Gowron appeared on the viewer.
“Greetings
my Federation allies! We have awaited your arrival. I am sure Worf has
explained to you the strategy we plan to use. It is a most common strategy
for the Klingons. We plan to trap the Dominion invaders where they stand
and crush them with one swift blow!”
Sisko looked up. “Gowron, yes Worf
explained to us your probable strategy. But don’t you think that tactic
is a little too obvious? The Dominion are bound to spot it immediately.”
Gowron’s face lit up. “It is of no
concern. Either way the Dominion will invade, and either way they shall
be trapped. All you have to do is make sure they don’t detect you while
you are cloaked.”
Sisko replied. “I think we can do
that. Sisko out.”
“Qapla!”
The image of Gowron was replaced
with the Klingon Empire’s insignia.
Chapter 10
As Sisko and the rest of the
Federation/Romulan
fleet lay in wait for the Dominion invasion, the Klingons were getting
more ships every day. By the end of the first week over 300 Klingon
warships
had been assembled. Fifteen of these were of the Neghvar class.
It was a formidable fleet indeed. But, Sisko expected the Dominion to
throw
over 600 fighters and enough Cardassian warships to destroy a planet
against
them. Sisko was about to take place in the largest battle ever to take
place in the Alpha quadrant. Sisko asked himself, “Are you prepared
for this?” He kept thinking, Are you ever prepared for battle?
Soon they would find out.
Sisko was pretty much accurate in
his estimates of the Dominion invasion fleet. Over 650 Dominion fighters
warped into the Jughan system, where the Klingon fleet was massed.
Immediately the Federation/Romulan fleet took up battle positions behind
the Dominion. Gowron’s flagship IKC Neghvar, which had just
received
repairs, was at the heart of the Klingon fleet. Cruisers and birds of prey
guarded the flanks. The battle began.
The first wave of Dominion fighters
came in firing off everything they had. Several birds of prey were
destroyed
without even firing a shot. The Vor’Cha cruisers went high and shot down
torpedoes at Dominion fighters below. Birds of prey virtually dogfighted
with the fighters as they wove intricate patterns while firing disruptors.
Gowron then gave the order for the Federation/Romulan fleet to decloak.
The Defiant uncloaked first and immediately took out several
fighters
that were blocking her path.
Aboard the Defiant, Sisko
had so many targets he didn’t know where to begin. Dax gave him some help.
“Captain, three fighters are on our tail.”
“Evasive maneuvers. Pattern Delta
7. Fire aft torpedoes.”
Kira sang out, “Direct hit, one
fighter
destroyed. The other 2 are continuing pursuit.”
The Defiant rocked violently
as a torpedo found her way onto the ship’s shields. “Shields down to 83%,”
O’Brien reported.
The Romulan warbirds, over 40 in
all, were making mincemeat of the Cardassian vessels. Seeing the Dominion
fighters as more maneuverable and faster, Sovalok decided to concentrate
on bigger targets. He dispatched several warbirds to assist in the battle
with the fighters. Only 1 warbird was lost in the battle with the
Galor-class
Cardassian warships.
Aboard the Neghvar, Gowron
was not pleased with his fleet. “Tell the ships of the 6th
battle
regiment to fall back and support the 5th regiment. Order the
17th bird of prey regiment to disengage and bring the fighters
near us. We’ll take them out once they fall in range.”
A bridge officer called out, “We
have a lock on several fighters approaching off the port bow, course 217
mark 3.”
Gowron called, “Fire torpedoes!”
The torpedoes lanced out, striking each fighter. All 5 of the fighters
disintegrated immediately. “Yes!” screamed Gowron, pumping his
fist.
The Federation fleet was taking
losses.
The Nebula-class ship Phoenix was destroyed, but not before she
took down several fighters in her blaze. Several Excelsior-class ships
were destroyed, and 1 Galaxy-class vessel erupted in flames. On board the
Defiant, Sisko gave the order to fire phasers. He couldn’t here
anything that the crew was saying. He heard something about shields down
to 43%. Dax took control of the ship, engaging in several custom-made
attack
patterns which made the Dominion crazy from all the jinking. Torpedoes
were fired from the aft section of the Defiant, and phasers were
fired at anything that moved in from of the ship. Sisko got his hearing
back after a second. “Bring us about to 135 mark 9. I want the fighters
to follow us right into the Neghvar’s path!”
“Aye sir!.” Dax yelled, doubting
even Sisko heard her.
The Defiant went into a vertical
climb, then dropped down suddenly after slowing down. She came about to
the desired heading and headed towards the Neghvar. Gowron was
pleased
at this tactic. Disruptor fire sprayed out from the mighty battleship,
scoring hits on any pursuing Dominion fighters.
On board the Neghvar, Gowron
was now awed at the performance of his fleet. They were now handling the
Dominion fighters with ease. He looked at the view screen and saw fighters
fleeing the scene. “They are retreating! They are retreating!” he yelled.
Cheers came from the bridge crew. The reaction was the same on every
Klingon,
Federation, and Romulan ship. The fleet had saved the Klingon Empire from
total annihilation. For now at least.
Gowron hailed the Defiant.
“On
screen,” Sisko ordered.
“Captain Sisko, thank you for your
support. The Klingon Empire is in your debt. Whenever your fleet needs
us for your cause, do not hesitate to call on us! Qapla!”
Gowron’s face left the viewer, and
a smile went across Sisko’s face.
Chapter 11
Picard sat on the bridge of his ship
as he watched the newest Defiant-class vessel being commissioned. We
are running out of materials, he though to himself. He looked at
Riker.
“Will, the fleet is running out of resources. We need to obtain more
torpedoes
and medical supplies. Any suggestions?”
Riker immediately replied, “Sir,
we could raid one of the old Federation starbases.”
“Which one?”
“I recommend we raid Starbase 1.
We could obtain lots of intelligence by just being there. We could use
a Klingon bird of prey to transport what we need. You’ve seen how well
they evade Dominion detection. At the same time, we could send a team to
infiltrate the station and possibly disable it. Starbase 1 is the main
protection of Earth. It sounds risky but I think we can actually take back
Earth by seizing Starbase 1.”
“Will, that’s a good idea. I’ll go
over it with fleet command.”
Picard was satisfied with the idea.
It seemed good enough. He also wondered how long the fleet would be able
to maintain hidden before the Dominion came screaming down like hawks on
mice in a field on them.
Chapter 12
Three days later, Picard had made
the necessary arrangements with Gowron. Ten birds of prey were to
penetrate
Dominion defenses and attempt to beam aboard supplies after the Federation
assault team disabled Starbase 1’s shields. The assault team was being
commanded by Lt. Cmdr Worf. Lt Cmdr. Data and Odo would also accompany
Worf. Each member of the team had a special purpose. Worf was to lead the
mission. Data was to provide security access, and Odo was to disable the
starbase. It seems simple enough, Picard thought. For disguise Data
& Worf would be surgically altered, while Odo naturally changed his
shape.
The team would set out on the
freighter
Audacity in 2 hours. “Number One, have the members of the assault
team meet me in my ready room.”
“Aye sir.”
Ten minutes later Worf, Data, and
Odo walked into the ready room. Picard had never met Odo, the changeling.
“It’s an honor to meet you Mr. Odo. Captain Sisko speaks very highly of
you.”
Odo did not like the flattering.
“Thank you sir.”
Picard noticed the team still
standing.
“Please, have a seat.”
The 3 members sat down. Picard began
his brief. “I’d first like to say that this mission will not be easy. You
will have to evade Dominion detection for as long as possible. This will
be very difficult. As you know, the fleet of Klingon birds of prey are
not to attack the station. Their mission is to beam you and the supplies
out of the starbase. You will have these special communicators which will
enable the Klingons to identify you in all the comm traffic. Your
objective
is to penetrate the starbase here,” Picard said while pointing to a
picture
of the starbase schematics, “and to set off an explosion near the docking
bay. The Klingons will then maneuver around the station. You will then
proceed to the main engineering room. Mr. Worf and Data, you are to fall
back and let Odo penetrate the area. He can get there a lot easier than
on foot. Odo will then plant a charge at least 10 feet away from the main
reactor, disabling it for about 15 minutes. This should give the Klingons
enough time to beam the supplies and you aboard. Do you have any
questions?”
Odo looked up. “What are we to do
if we encounter Dominion troops?”
“I expect you to evade all contact
with the Dominion. The starbase is pretty much a commercial place so you
may blend in with the environment of freighter crews. The Audacity
leaves in 1 hour. Cmdr. Riker has prepared some nice clothing for you.
You are not to use your weapons unless fired upon first. Gentlemen, this
is a mission of great importance. The entire rebellion is counting on you.
Good luck. Dismissed.”
The 3 men walked out of the room.
Riker handed them their clothes once they got on the bridge. “Good luck,”
Riker said.
“We shall need it,” Worf
commented.
Chapter 13
The Audacity departed the
Badlands an hour later, with Worf, Data, and Odo aboard. The 3 sat very
quietly on the freighter. The trip to Earth would take 12 hours moving
at warp 6. Worf became bored.
An hour later inside the
Audacity,
klaxons sounded. Worf ran to the bridge. “What is going on?”
The captain looked up, “Three
Dominion
fighters have just ordered us to halt our approach. They are planning to
board us. Damnit, thought Worf.
Worf looked for a plan of defense.
“Does this ship have any weapons.”
“Yes, but we will need to open our
cargo doors. The phaser cannon is inside. But, I will lose my cargo if
we use it.”
“Would you rather be captured by
Dominion soldiers? You must sacrifice your cargo!”
The captain complied, but not
because
of the Dominion threat, but because of Worf’s screaming at him. The
captain
turned to his helmsman. “On my mark, come to course 090. Open doors and
fire the cannon…..mark!”
The ship turned directly to port.
The outer doors opened, and the Audacity’s cargo floated out. The
Dominion fighters slowed down to scan the cargo. The cannon blazed out
6 shots before going dead.
The helmsman called out, “Direct
hits! Dominion fighters destroyed.”
The captain sighed. He had just lost
his cargo. “Close outer doors. Continue course to Earth, warp 9.
Engage.”
The Audacity leapt into a
blaze of light.
Chapter 14
The Audacity finally reached Earth.
As the ship began to dock with Starbase 1, the Audacity was hailed
by the space station. “Audacity, we have reports that you fired
on 3 fighters near the Bajor sector. Prepare to be boarded.”
The captain of the Audacity
knew there was nothing he could do. “Quick! We must beam you three aboard
quickly! Get to the transporters!”
The trio ran swiftly. Data yelled
to the captain, “Thank you! Your sacrifices will not be in vain!” The trio
beamed off two seconds before Jem ‘Hadar soldiers began beaming aboard
the Audacity. They shot the captain first, then went for the rest
of the crew.
The trio beamed into a pretty public
place. Much like the promenade, thought Odo. Odo had changed into
a more human-like appearance. He had been this way the entire trip to
allow
Data and Worf the chance to get used to it. Odo looked at his map. “We
must go this way to get to the docking bay.”
The trio set out in silence. It was
a half-kilometer walk to the outer docking bay. It was clear Starbase 1
was huge. Jem ‘Hadar soldiers brushed by the trio carrying weapons. At
least 10 times Worf had his hand on his phaser, just in case. At last they
reached their destination.
Through the airlock, Data saw at
least 25 starships and Cardassian warships docked within the starbase.
“I shall set the timer for 15 minutes. We will be well out of the way by
then.” Data took out the 3 inch by 3 inch flat explosive card, and placed
it on the wall. He set the chameleon field to active. The chameleon field
would allow the charge to blend in with its surrounds, making it invisible
to sensors or the naked eye. The trio quietly walked away towards main
engineering.
Fifteen minutes later the explosion
was felt even a mile away. Jem ‘Hadar ran past the trio. In another 5
minutes
main engineering was all but deserted, except to its former Starfleet
officers,
who now had different uniforms resembling that of a Jem Hadar
soldier.
“I’ll be back in 5 minutes,” Odo
said, “if I am not back by then leave without me.”
Data and Worf nodded at the
shape-shifter.
Odo looked around to make sure no one was watching, and he quickly jumped
into the wall in his gelatinous state.
Once Odo reached main engineering,
he quickly found a corner where no one was watching, and he quickly
shape-shifted
into an officer. He looked just like everyone else. He saw the main
reactor
not 30 yards away. He reached into his pocket and fingered the charge.
It would go off in 5 minutes regardless of whether he had disposed of it
or still had it. He continued his walk. Ten feet from the reactor,
he kept thinking. When he was about 15 feet away, Jem ‘Hadar soldiers ran
in and began to inspect everyone. “You, over there, come here!”
Odo stopped dead in his tracks. “Yes
sir?”
The Jem ‘Hadar looked at him. “There
has been an explosion in the docking bay area. Have you seen anyone that
looked suspicious?”
“No sir I haven’t. Now if you’ll
excuse me..”
“That’s no way to talk to a superior
officer.” The Jem ‘Hadar lashed out and punched Odo in the stomach. The
changeling fell to the floor and the charge fell out of his pocket. The
timer was at 1 minute and 30 seconds. “What is this? It looks like I have
found the saboteur.” The soldier raised his rifle at Odo, and prepared
to fire. Odo closed his eyes and heard fire. Only it wasn’t the Jem ‘Hadar
soldier who fired at him. It was Worf, standing 10 meters behind the
soldier.
“Quickly Constable. Place the
charge.
We must leave.” Forty-five seconds were left.
Odo hurled the charge towards the
reactor. It was around 12 feet away. Thirty seconds. Jem ‘Hadar soldiers
came screaming in the doorway behind Worf. Data appeared from a corner
and killed all 5 of the soldiers with his phaser set on maximum. Fifteen
seconds. The trio ran as fast as they could, evading former Starfleet
soldiers.
Five seconds.
Boom.
Starbase 1’s lights went out
(literally)
and all was dark. Worf pushed his comm bade. “Worf to fleet. Beam us up
immediately.”
A Klingon voice came back over the
comm, “It will be at least another minute, we are still beaming the
supplies
aboard.”
Worf grunted. “Very well.”
The trio walked casually. No Jem
‘Hadar would be able to see them in the dark. Worf heard his comm badge
beep. “Worf here.”
“We are ready to beam you up.
Standby.”
The trio disappeared in a red blaze
of light as the Klingon transporters snagged them from the station.
Chapter 15
Aboard the Klingon bird of prey
Kee’sol,
the trio rested. After about an hour of attempting to sleep, Worf
proceeded
to the bridge to thank the captain of the ship. When he arrived he saw
Captain Noroth. Worf had never met Noroth before. “Greetings Captain
Noroth.
I am Worf son of Mogh. I wish to thank you for your braveness in helping
us escape.”
“Worf son of Mogh,” Noroth cried
like a drunken Klingon, “the honor is ours! It is an honor to help the
Federation after their bravery in helping us defeat the Dominion!”
Worf was relieved. Most Klingon
captains
would despise him due to his lack of honor. He asked, “Noroth, did you
manage to beam aboard all the supplies.”
“Yes. The Dominion did not even know
we were there.”
A little too easy, thought
Worf. “Good. How long until we reach the Badlands.”
“Nine hours. You should get your
rest. A hard day’s work requires it.”
Worf was satisfied with the
Klingon’s
performance. “Very well. Thank you.”
As Worf left the bridge, Noroth
commented,
“I believe Gowron should restore The House of Mogh’s honor..”
Chapter 16
The Kee’sol arrived in the
Badlands 9 hours later. Supples were transported to the asteroid facility.
Picard, on board the Enterprise, was pleased.
“Overall, the Klingons managed to
transport 6000 quantum torpedoes, 25 tons of medical supplies, and some
very interesting computer data chips found along with the medical
supplies,”
Riker reported at a Fleet Command Meeting. He continued, “It’s a wonder
the tiny birds of prey managed to transport 6000 torpedoes. Three of the
ships had to put torpedoes on the bridge to make room for them. Six
thousand
will last the fleet over 6 months or more. The badly needed medical
supplies
will last over 8 months.”
“But what about the computer chips
we found?” someone asked.
Picard took over. “The chips contain
special tactical information as to the whereabouts of the Dominion fleet.
Apparently the Dominion were planning to attack our outpost here. The
Dominion
must have found out about our secret base here, and from the computer chip
we have determined they were only 4 weeks away from attacking. I
am assuming the attack is still planned to take place, so we need to
prepare
ourselves. I have already contacted Gowron, and he is sending
ships.”
A captain seated at the table asked,
“Just how many ships are they planning to use against us?”
Picard’s face turned green. “The
computer chip said at least 800 fighters and 150 Cardassian warships. I
am not too worried about the Cardassians at the moment. The Romulan fleet
took care of them pretty easily due to the fact that the Cardassians are
merely fire-support ships. I believe the Cardassian ships are also acting
as transports, as the chip mentioned something about a ground
force.”
Captain Freeman of the James T.
Kirk stood up. “Captain Picard, how do you expect us to defeat 800
Dominion fighters and 150 Cardassian ships? With the Federation, Klingon,
and Romulan fleets combined we only total up to about 490 ships in all.
Our chances wouldn’t be very good against the Dominion.”
“To be honest Captain Freeman, I
have no clue.”
The members of the Fleet Command
began talking. Many were unhappy at the way Picard would throw them into
battle.
“Are we just supposed to die?”
someone
yelled. “How are we to win a battle such as this?”
Picard was at unrest. “Please settle
down. We do however have a trick up our sleeve. The chip says that the
Dominion fleet will not be ready for at least 3 weeks from today.
Apparently
the Dominion shipyards are becoming overwhelmed with the number of ships
they must build. I say we strike the Dominion shipyards. With a powerful
push through Dominion lines we can rupture their supply lines and even
out the odds!” Picard yelled emotionally. No one cheered. “Yes I figured
that,” Picard said referring to how no one cheered. “Damnit!” he yelled
as he slammed his fist on the table. “We have one chance, I repeat one
chance, to take back our home world. The Dominion, they feed off our land.
They ravage our country sides. They build temples to the Founders. They
attack repeatedly. And what do we do? NOTHING! We sit here in the
Badlands,
hiding like scared children! We cannot let the Dominion control our
destiny!
We must control theirs! So I propose a fight to the death! A fight to
reclaim
what our ancestors built! A fight to reclaim what is rightfully ours! A
fight to destroy the Dominion and everything in it! If anyone disagrees
with me you are free to go!” No one got up. This time the members
cheered.
Riker looked at Picard. “Sir, a most
excellent speech, worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy.”
“Thank you Number One.”
The Fleet Command decided on one
final push through Dominion space. The entire fleet would move out the
next day in an effort to destroy Dominion shipyards and supply lines. The
next few days would decide the fate of the rebellion, and the Alpha
Quadrant.
Chapter 17
As the last Defiant-class ship was
constructed, the Federation fleet, which was now accompanied by more than
150 Klingon warships and 80 Romulan warbirds, engaged their cloaking
devices
and set out on their mission.
On board the Enterprise,
Picard
sat in his chair and awaited whatever fate that was to become of the
Federation.
“Number One, open a channel to the fleet.”
“Channel open, sir.”
“This is Captain Picard on board
the Enterprise. All ships please check in and report any system
failures of any kind.”
Data looked up from his panel
momentarily.
“Sir, all ships have reported in. The fleet is ready.”
“Very well,” Picard said. He
continued
to talk to the fleet, “I know our task is great. But, we have the
advantage.
The element of surprise is our biggest advantage. Now, for your orders.
Our first target will be a planet deep inside Dominion space. Proxima 3
is a Dominion shipyard responsible for outfitting old Starfleet ships with
Dominion weapons and manufacturing new fighters. The station is heavily
guarded by a small fleet of fighters, starships, and Cardassian warships.
You should be receiving a full report now. Once we have secured the planet
we are to engage the shipyard. The objective is to destroy the shipyard
totally. Once the objective has been completed we shall draw our forces
back to the Crab Nebula, only 17 light years from the Proxima system.
Further
orders will be distributed then.” Picard looked at the viewer. All he saw
was empty space, but he knew his fleet was cloaked and out there. “May
we be successful.” He raised his hand and propped out his middle and
pointing
finger, “Engage.”
The fleet leapt toward the Proxima
system at Warp 9.
Chapter 18
“Data, how long till we reach the
Proxima system?” Riker asked.
“Two hours, 12 minutes, and 45
seconds,
sir.”
On board the USS Defiant,
Sisko was uneasy. The coffee he had was terrible, and he continued to
worry
about Jake. I’ll see him soon. The war will be over soon, he
thought
to himself.
“Captain, incoming message from
Captain
Picard. He says to take a look at this battle plan and see if it meets
your approval,” Dax reported.
“Very well. Receive file.” Ten
minutes
later Sisko was fascinated by Picard’s plan. Apparently Picard planned
to use the Defiant-class ships as the surprise element. The formation
began
with the Klingon birds of prey and had Romulan warbirds in support. The
Federation ships would take flanking positions and give fire support. The
Defiant-class ships were to hide and pop-up behind Dominion fighters when
they least expected it. “Tell Captain Picard that I find this plan very
interesting. I approve of it. It looks like it would work at least
once.”
The fleet slowed to impulse as they
reached the Proxima system.
“On screen,” Picard ordered.
“Report.”
The view screen showed around 25
Dominion fighters and several damaged starships and Cardassian warships.
“Sir the fleet is ready to engage on your order.”
This should be easy enough,
thought Picard. “On my mark, decloak and take out the fighters first.
MARK!”
The Dominion fighters literally
pissed
in their pants as 490 warships decloaked all around them. The Klingon
birds
of prey were the first to reach the fighters. Disruptor fire ripped
towards
the fighters. A bird of prey was lost due to Dominion fire, but the
warbirds
swooped down firing torpedoes which killed several fighters. The starships
went to secure the Cardassian warships. “Fire,” ordered Captain Freeman
aboard the James T. Kirk.
“Direct hits,” reported her tactical
officer. The ship shook as a torpedo hit her shields. “Shields holding
at 64%.”
The James T. Kirk continued
her barrage.
The order was given for the
Defiant-class
ships to decloak. All 43 of the tiny ships popped out of hiding and
wreaked
havoc among the Dominion fighters. Only a few remained. “Lock phasers,
FIRE!” Sisko ordered. The Defiant‘s phasers gave off a spectacular
view, worthy of a 4th of July Parade. The phaser fire was right
on target.
Dax called back, “Fighter destroyed
sir, we have 2 more off the port bow. No, wait, they have been
destroyed.”
Picard’s voice came over the comm,
“We have destroyed all enemy opposition. Prepare to destroy the
shipyards.”
Each ship knew where to go. In 30
seconds the shipyards were destroyed. The fleet recloaked and headed for
the Crab Nebula.
A job well done, Picard
thought.
Chapter 19
As the fleet remain cloaked hidden
inside the Crab Nebula, Picard watched on the view screen as Dominion
ships
ran around the sector looking for enemy ships. The new Romulan cloaking
devices the fleet was equipped with were probably the best in the
quadrant.
The Dominion would have to be virtually on top of the fleet to detect
them.
From the bridge of the Enterprise,
the crew relaxed. The battle had made the entire bridge crew a little
tense.
Though the Enterprise only took 1 torpedo hit, the ship was
operating
well above normal. Morale was high throughout the fleet. Picard began to
prepare for the next fleet command meeting in 1 hour. Dr. Crusher walked
onto the bride. Picard looked up. “Beverly, what in the devil’s name are
you doing on the bridge.”
“Captain please I need to speak with
you.”
Picard nodded at Crusher and
proceeded
to his ready room. Once the doors were closed Picard looked at Beverly.
Damn, she has to be the most beautiful woman in the galaxy, he
thought.
“What seems to be the problem?”
Beverly looked at him. “I was
watching
the Dominion’s broadcast earlier today. It seems they have begun taking
hostages on Earth that are related to members of the rebellion. My entire
family is in a Dominion prison camp!” She began to cry. Picard wrapped
his arms around Crusher and held her.
He whispered to her, “Beverly I
promise
to you that I will get your family out of the camp.”
“Thank you Jean-Luc. You were always
a good friend.” She kissed him on the lip, passionately, and walked out
of the room. You sly dog you…
As Picard pondered over this news,
he wondered how many other crew members were affected. Since Picard didn’t
have any family on Earth at the time, he wasn’t worried about him. Many
of the crew must have been feeling the same anxiety as Beverly. It was
time for his Fleet Command Meeting.
Picard walked into the Conference
Lounge. The usual faces were there.
As Picard took his seat at the head
of the table, he looked at everyone. “I would first like to compliment
everyone on the victory at Proxima. The battle went well. We only lost
2 ships. I hope our next operation will be as successful.”
“Captain, word has it that the
Dominion
are beginning to take hostages back on Earth. What are we to do about this
situation?” someone at the table asked.
“I really do not know. We could send
in a team to liberate the hostages. But, this would be very difficult due
to the fact that the Dominion have increased security ever since our first
raid on Starbase 1.”
An ensign came in and handed Picard
a PADD. As the ensign was leaving, Picard studied the PADD. “I have just
been informed that several Dominion communication relays have been
constructed
in this sector. This could allow the Dominion to intercept our subspace
communications.”
Captain Freeman looked up, “Do you
think we should destroy the relays?”
“Possibly. If we could capture them
instead we might be able to learn valuable information about Dominion
activity
and recent communications. But that would pose a risk on the fleet’s
location.
I guess we will have to take these out at once before we are to move out
of the Nebula.”
Gowron spoke for the first time
since
he had been invited to the meetings. “Picard, I offer several birds of
prey to destroy the outpost. With your permission..”
Picard interrupted Gowron. “Gowron,
I have every confidence in your crews’ abilities. But, I fear a bird of
prey lacks the firepower to destroy a relay station quick enough as to
not alert enemy ships. I plan on using several Defiant-class ships to take
out the relays.”
“Very well. But I believe you are
making a mistake.”
“Your opinion is noted,” Picard
snapped
quickly. “Are there any other suggestions?”
No one replied to that question.
Picard was pleased. “Very well.” He noticed the look of Gowron.
Gowron was staring right at Picard.
“Now Gowron, please do not be offended by my decision. We both know that
this is in the best interests of the fleet. We need your birds of prey
to battle the Dominion, not their relays.”
Gowron still had the look on his
face. “Very well.”
The meeting ended. The Fleet Command
decided on an attack against Earth. The fleet would move in 2
days.
Chapter 20
About 12 hours later, the USS
Defiant slowed to impulse power. After 3 hours of traveling at warp
8, the Defiant had finally reached its destination in the Gombarra
system. The objective of the mission was to destroy a new Dominion relay
station, and any opposition guarding it.
“Report,” Sisko snapped.
O’Brien looked up from his console.
“I’m reading a Nebula-class starship, slightly modified of course,
patrolling
the outer edges of the system.”
“Any fighters?” Sisko asked.
“No sir. I believe the starship is
the USS Backfire. The Backfire is turning towards us sir,
but I don’t think they’ve found us.”
Sisko pondered over what to do.
“Bring
us to 137 mark 56. Two-fifths impulse. We’ll creep behind the
Backfire
and blow her to bits.”
Dax fingered her controls. “Coming
about, sir.”
The Defiant came in behind
the Backfire. “Red Alert. Prepare to decloak on my mark. Ready
quantum
torpedoes and phasers. Prepare for evasive maneuvers. MARK!”
As the Defiant decloaked,
phaser fire erupted from her forward section. The Backfire’s
shields
absorbed the first blows. Torpedoes lanced out from the Defiant.
“Direct hit,” rang O’Brien. “She’s
returning fire.”
The Defiant shook. Sparks
flew from a panel close to O’Brien. A man lay on the floor, bleeding from
his head. Ten seconds later Dr. Bashir rushed in to help the man.
“Fire phasers,” Sisko ordered.< FONT FACE="Times New Roman,Times">
“Shields holding at 56%,” O’Brien
called.
As a torpedo erupted from the saucer
on top of the Nebula-class vessel, the Defiant sped for altitude.
The torpedo missed, and the Defiant barrel-rolled. The
Defiant
was now on a direct collision course with the Backfire. Phaser fire
blazed from both ships.
“Shields at 34%!” called O’BRIEN.
“Sir I don’t think we can take much more of this…”
The Defiant shook again. The
big Nebula-class starship continued to fire everything she had. The
Defiant
evaded most of the torpedoes, but phaser fire from the Backfire
found
its mark.
“Shields are gone!”
Sisko had to react fast. “All
weapons…FIRE!!”
As the Defiant fired, the
Backfire was already destroyed. A Klingon bird of prey flew through
the flames of the Backfire. The Klingon ship barely evaded the
Defiant‘s
phaser fire.
Worf looked from his panel. “Sir,
apparently the Klingon ship decloaked behind the Backfire. Our
sensors
were damaged. She quickly fired 3 torpedoes and finished off the Dominion
starship…we are being hailed.”
“On screen,” Sisko ordered.
Captain Noroth of the Kee’sol
appeared. “Well, well, well..if it isn’t my good friend Worf, Son of Mogh
on board the Federation ship. How goes things with you my friend?”
Worf was uneasy. “Fine. Thank you
for being concerned.”
Sisko looked up. “I am Captain
Benjamin
Sisko of the USS Defiant, thank you for assisting us. We’ll need
some help finishing off the relay..”
Noroth interrupted, “It has already
been done. Ten Klingon attack cruisers took care of it 2 minutes
ago.”
Sisko looked suprised. “I thought
Captain Picard made it clear that the Klingons were to..”
Noroth interrupted him. “Gowron must
have misinterpreted Picard. He thought Picard meant ships from the rebel
fleet could not venture out here. These ships are usually assigned to
guard
the borders of the Empire…”
Sisko saw no point in arguing with
the Klingon. “Very well. We will proceed to the fleet’s location. Thank
you for your help.”
“Qapla!” sang Noroth.
Noroth’s image faded. Sisko had
never
been so mad in his life. How many men had died? And for what? To have some
Klingon ships do the job for them? “Set course for the Crab Nebula. Engage
cloak. Warp 9. Engage.”
As the Defiant cloaked and
went to warp, souls from the Backfire screamed for mercy as the
Klingons continued to shoot their disruptors at what was left of the
once-mighty
vessel.
Chapter 21
In the Crab Nebula, the fleet
cloaked
and prepared to go to warp. With the communication relays gone, the fleet
could move about freely.
Picard looked up from his chair.
“Open up a channel to the fleet.”
“Channel open sir,” came Riker’s
reply.
Picard prepared to give the fleet
their next orders. “This is Captain Picard on board the Enterprise.
What I am about to ask you to do is totally voluntary. What I will ask
poses a huge risk on all of us. If any of you wish to not participate in
this next operation, I ask you to leave now.”
None of the ships left.
“Thank you. Alright. Our next
operation
concerns Earth. Fleet Command has voted on it, and we have decided to
launch
a last major battle against the Dominion’s defenses. This means we shall
have to surprise the Dominion, and hit them with everything we have. Mr.
Data is transmitting the battle plan to you now. The battle plan contains
information about which ships are to decloak where, and which ships are
to concentrate on what. Good luck to all of us. ENGAGE!”
All 485 ships jumped to warp. The
Battle of Earth would soon take place.
Chapter 22
As the fleet slowed to impulse power
in the Sol System, Picard looked at the view screen and gasped.
“Report Mr. Data.”
“Sir, Starbase 1 is heavily guarded
by a number of Dominion fighters and cruisers. A fleet of starships and
Cardassian ships are orbiting Earth.”
Picard was awed. “How many ships
in all Data?”
“Six hundred and 13 fighters, 68
cruisers, 141 starships, various classes, and 300 Cardassian warships.”
“My God!” said Riker.
Picard prepared himself. “Open a
channel to the fleet.”
“Channel open.”
“This is Captain Picard on the
Enterprise.
Prepare to engage. You all have your positions. Signal when ready.”
After about 5 minutes of maneuvering
into position very slowly to avoid detection, the fleet was ready.
Data looked up from his console.
“The fleet has signaled in sir. We are ready.”
Picard gave the order. “Decloak on
my mark. Open fire immediately.”
The crew awaited Picard’s
order.
“Mark.”
Chapter 23
As the fleet decloaked, torpedoes
caught numerous vessels off-guard. Explosions lit the sky. The
Defiant-class
vessels took the lead. Starships launched torpedoes while firing phasers.
Klingon cruisers came about and opened fire on the Cardassian ships.
Dominion
cruisers engaged the warbirds.
On board the Defiant, Sisko
was eager to fight.
Kira reported, “Sir, 6 fighters
coming
up off the port bow.”
“Lock phasers…fire!”
As the Defiant turned to
port,
fighters opened fire on her. “Shields at 80%,” Dax yelled. The
Defiant’s
phasers lanced out. Four of the fighters went down immediately. Disruptor
fire from a Klingon battle cruiser ended the other 2 fighters’
existence.
Several starships exploded. The
Enterprise
was leading the battle. Picard felt he was some ancient Greek warrior
during
the Trojan War. “FIRE ALL WEAPONS ON TARGET!”
The target was a former Soyuz-class
vessel. It did not have time to turn about to return fire before 5
torpedoes
erupted on her hull. Dominion fighters attempted to break apart the rebel
forces. They wove in and out of rebel ships, causing them to become
confused.
A Romulan warbird exploded, followed by a number of Klingon and Federation
ships.
The Defiant-class ships were still
inflicting the most damage on the Dominion fighters. As one of the mighty
vessels destroyed 12 fighters consecutively, she was blown to bits by a
squadron of Cardassian Galor-class vessels.
Phaser fire was seen coming from
the same Cardassian warships, but 15 or so Romulan warbirds decloaked
behind
them. What followed was spectacular. Usual of a Romulan commander, no
survivors
were left in the mini-fleet of Cardassian vessels. One of the warbirds
erupted as a Dominion cruisers targeted her.
The Neghvar-class cruisers were
performing
well, despite heavy losses. The mighty Klingon vessels were assigned the
task of disabling Starbase 1, which was quite difficult. On board the
Neghvar,
Gowron found himself remembering the battle at DS9 not 2 years before.
He yelled in Klingon, “I want that station destroyed now!”
The cruisers spat out disruptor
fire.
Several torpedoes hit the starbase’s shields in the same spot, causing
them to collapse. Several penetrated and struck the huge starbase.
While all this was going on, the
people on Earth watched the sky light up with delight. Many of them
cheered
for the Federation forces, but they could not tell who was winning from
there location. Jem ‘Hadar soldiers walked by, holding some sort of
cannon.
As they set the cannon up, the First there ordered them to fire. The
cannon
erupted. A missile flew through Earth’s atmosphere.
The missile struck one of the
Romulan
warbirds. The warbird was in flames immediately.
As the people on Earth realized what
the soldiers were doing, they knew it had to be stopped. One of the humans
came forward, carrying a 20th century uzi. “This ought to show
those Dominion bastards. As the soldiers fired off 4 more missiles, the
man crept up behind them slowly.
Bullets blazed. Six soldiers were
dead immediately. “Hey, this 20th century thing aint so
bad!”
As cheering citizens rushed down
to take control of the missile-launcher, the man dropped the Uzi and
picked
up the Dominion rifle. “Let’s get to work people.”
On board the Enterprise, Data
reported, “Sir, another missile is appearing out of Earth’s atmosphere..head
ed
for…wait…the missile has struck one of the Dominion cruisers. The
cruiser
has been destroyed.”
The people on Earth managed to fire
a missile at a rate of one every 72 seconds. They fired 16 more before
Jem ‘Hadar soldiers rushed up from behind and killed every man, woman,
and child participating.
The Enterprise, meanwhile,
had gotten itself into a bad situation. Data’s fingers ran across his
console
at the speed of sound. “We have 6 Dominion cruisers closing on our
position
sir.”
Picard thumbed his panel. “Bring
us to course 190. Prepare to fire torpedoes, spread pattern Orion.
Two-fifths
impulse…attack pattern Picard 5..engage!”
As the Enterprise turned to
190, the cruisers opened fire. “FIRE!” Picard yelled. Torpedoes lanced
out from the starship.
“Direct hit,” the tactical officer
called.
As the Dominion torpedoes found
their
mark, the Enterprise’s port nacelle was ripped off. “Shields are
down sir! Our port nacelle has been destroyed!”
As the Dominion cruisers prepared
to board the starship, the Defiant decloaked out of nowhere.
On the bridge of the Defiant,
Sisko grinned. “Fire,” he said calmly.
The Defiant raked the first
cruiser with its phasers, then let loose with a volley of torpedoes. The
cruiser erupted before it could beam soldiers over to the Enterprise.
Several birds of prey converged on
the cruisers. Their disruptors drew the cruisers away from the
Enterprise,
allowing her time to get her shields back up.
On the bridge of the Enterprise
,
fires were being put out. Data continued to monitor the battle from his
console. Picard was too busy helping the injured bridgecrew, so Data had
to control the Enterprise. “Sir, several Cardassian warships are
attempting to box us in..firing torpedoes..one Cardassian ship destroyed.
Sir, we only have 36 torpedoes left.”
Picard looked up from his patient.
“Then we will have to make due with what we’ve got!”
The Enterprise shook as
Cardassian
phaser fire found its target. The thin, yellow beams continued to barrage
the Enterprise’s weak shields. A Nebula-class starship came to the
Enterprise’s rescue and fired off several torpedoes which scattered
the Cardassian ships, allowing a Neghvar-class cruiser to surprise the
Cardassians with a hit-and-run decloak tactic. Two Cardassian ships were
destroyed, without either of the friendly ships taking a hit.
Many of the ships had taken the
battle
past Mars to avoid incoming missile fire. What remained of the Dominion
fighter fleet attempted to destroy a small fleet of Klingon attack and
battle cruisers. Several Defiant-class ships were wreaking havoc on the
fighters.
On board the Defiant, Dax
reported, “Sir, I am picking up fighters 17 light years away. The Dominion
are bringing in reinforcements sir. I am also picking up several Dominion
starships.”
“Damn!” was Sisko’s first reaction.
They were actually winning the battle here, and the last thing they needed
were more Dominion ships. He realized the only way to win was to turn the
Dominion starships back to their side. Sisko touched his comm badge.
“Sisko
to Odo. Meet me on the bridge.”
Sisko quickly explained to Odo his
plan. “Your job is to infiltrate Starfleet HQ, and kill the
changeling
portraying Admiral Smith. Mount this device on your weapon.
It will record the entire process of Admiral Smith reverting back to his
changeling state. Then, activate the device. It will flood
all subspace channels with the sequence. Perhaps we’ll be able to
sway the Dominion starships back to our side.
Odo liked the plan. “Yes sir. I will
leave at once from the Longbow in Shuttlebay 1.”
“Good luck Odo,” Sisko said.
Chapter 24
As the shuttle craft Longbow
departed from the Defiant, Odo attempted to stay out of the way
of Dominion fighters. As the fighters came near him, they ignored him and
went for the big prizes. The Defiant had about 15 fighters on her
tail at once. Several aft torpedoes took care of a few of the fighters,
but several Klingon birds of prey made the save with their disruptors.
Odo reached Earth quite safely. Odo
landed the runabout in Hawaii, and transported himself a kilometer
away from the former Starfleet Command Headquarters in San Francisco. He
morphed into a Jem ‘Hadar soldier, and began his journey on foot.
Along the way, he encountered
several
Jem ‘Hadar. Seeing he had no identification, Odo was attacked. Odo quickly
killed the patrol and stole one of their ID cards. He quickly changed
shape
to match that of the slain Jem ‘Hadar, took the soldier’s rifle, and
continued
on.
Odo encountered 2 more patrols, but
was not hassled. He reached Starfleet Command in around 25 minutes. He
knew he had around 5 minutes before those starships arrived.
As he walked into the hall, he
recognized
several old Starfleet Admirals. Many of them appeared to be who they said
they were, and the Dominion soldiers followed each of them and virtually
had a gun to their heads at all times. Odo continued down the hall and
walked by several Jem ‘Hadar. No harm done of course.
About 30 seconds more of walking,
Odo turned left into an empty hallway. He walked on and peeked into
a room. Odo spotted Admiral Smith, observing the battle from his
office. A Vorta, whom Odo quickly recognized as one of the infamous
Weyoun’s
clones, was present. Smith spotted Odo.
“I am sorry, but the white feeding
was 30 minutes ago. It’s too bad you missed your daily dose…”
Odo didn’t let him finish. Seeing
no one was around at the moment, he raised his rifle and fired. He killed
the changeling first with about 10 blasts from his rifle. The changeling
screamed, and finally turned into a black powder. Odo turned to
Weyoun.
Weyoun was terrified. “Please, I’ll
get you that white if you want…”
He died several seconds
later.
Odo reached onto his rifle, where
he had placed the tricorder-like device. He played back the sequence,
seeing
it was picture-perfect. Odo was satisfied. He pushed in a few keys, and
played it. Subspace was being flooded with the movie-sequence.
Odo touched his comm badge. “Odo
to Longbow, 1 to beam up.”
Odo beamed back to his shuttle
craft,
and set out for the Defiant.
Chapter 26
On board the Dominion starship
Revenge,
Captain Jonathan Perry ordered the fleet to slow to impulse. He was in
command of the Dominion reinforcements.
Just then his tactical officer said,
“Sir, incoming transmission from Earth.”
“On screen.”
The viewer showed the entire
sequence.
Admiral Smith was shot with rifle, and returned to his changeling state.
Captain Perry was baffled. The sequence continued to play. “Number One
what do you make of this?
The executive officer looked up.
“Captain in my opinion it looks like the Dominion have taken over
Starfleet
and tricked us into following them.”
“Indeed,” was Perry’s response. “Get
me Picard.”
Due to the fact that the
Enterprise
was in a furball at the moment, Perry had to wait. He took the time to
consult with all remaining Dominion starships, and all of them agreed with
him. They would turn on the Dominion when the timing was
right.
Picard’s face appeared on the
Revenge’s
viewer a moment later. Picard said, “Captain Perry. It has been a while.
I really don’t have time to chat though. What do you want?”
“Picard, I have spoken with the rest
of the Dominion starships, and after seeing that sequence, we want to join
up with you.”
Picard was delighted. “That’s
wonderful.
Can you provide us with any information?”
The image of Picard began to become
fuzzy. “Yes. My tactical officer is sending you Dominion shield
frequencies.
Once my fleet drops out of warp I’ll open fire on my fighters.”
Picard seemed happy. “Thank you
Captain
Perry….I have received the file…now transmitting to entire fleet. Good
luck.”
As the Revenge and her
escorting
fighters dropped out of warp around Pluto, the Revenge opened
phaser
fire on the fighters. While the fighters’ shields were virtually useless,
they were destroyed in seconds.
Similar things were happening to
all Dominion ships.
On board the Enterprise, Data
looked up, emotionally, and yelled, “Sir, the Dominion are retreating!”
Cheers went up from the
crew.
As the crew looked at the viewer,
the remaining fighters, cruisers, and Cardassian warships were fleeing
the scene. They all jumped into warp with a flash of light.
On board the shuttle craft
Longbow,
Odo was smiling. “Odo to Defiant, I assume we have won?”
Sisko’s voice came back. “Yes.
Well done Constable!. The Dominion are fleeing back towards Cardassian
space. We have won back Earth and the Federation!”
On the surface of Earth, Jem ‘Hadar,
Changelings, and Vorta were escaping in fighters stationed on the ground.
The fighters leaving Earth’s atmosphere didn’t bother to go near the
Federation
fleet. They took the long way back to Cardassian space.
The people of Earth cheered. Crowds
massed near the old Yankee Stadium in New York city. In Moscow, the people
sang ancient chants and danced like only a Russian can.
As the Enterprise and other
ships began to orbit Earth, Crusher beamed down to her ancestors’ hometown
of Richmond, Virginia. As soon as she reappeared she spotted her sisters.
She ran towards them, screaming their names. Her yelling ended in a warm
embrace.
Chapter 24
Picard sat on the bridge of the
Enterprise.
“Captain’s log, stardate 50024.8. Today is a momentous day for the Alpha
Quadrant. After a successful attack, Dominion forces fled back to
Cardassia.
The USS Defiant, now in the Bajor system, reports that the Dominion
fighters and cruisers have gone back through the wormhole to the Gamma
Quadrant. All that is left of the Dominion in the Alpha Quadrant are the
Cardassians, who have already pledged their support for a new peace
treaty.
As for the crew of the Enterprise, I could not be happier and
prouder
than I am right now. Day after day this crew faces new challenges, and
reacts with an ability seen on no other ship in the fleet. Today has just
proved that when we all come together, against a common enemy, we can
accomplish
anything.”
As the Enterprise docked with
Starbase 1, where her repairs were to be made, fireworks were going off
near the moon. The entire Romulan and Klingon fleets were there for the
celebration. Today, was the Alpha Quadrant’s Independence Day.
Epilogue
As Sisko beamed down to Bajor, he
looked around for his son. He had just found out that Bajor had been
occupied
by the Jem ‘Hadar, and wondered if Jake was okay.
After about an hour of wandering,
Sisko heard, “Dad!”
Sisko turned around. What he saw
stunned him. His son had grown a beard. “Jake!”
The two men rushed into each other’s
arms. Both of them began to weep from joy. “I love you,” they both said
in unison.
Sisko looked up and smiled. “You
need a shave.”
Both of them laughed at what had
been the first joke they’d heard in the last 3 months.